Outdoor Notes: Navigation aid getting a remake

It’s over 70 years old, a thin magenta-colored line appearing on over 50 different navigational charts covering the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, snaking 3,000 miles along the route of the Intracoastal Waterway.

It’s over 70 years old, a thin magenta-colored line appearing on over 50 different navigational charts covering the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, snaking 3,000 miles along the route of the Intracoastal Waterway. Now, thanks to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and a public-private partnership with Active Captain, an interactive cruising notebook, the “magenta line” will be updated on all newly-issued navigational charts to help boats stay in safe water. A proposal had been made to remove the line entirely but individuals and groups, including BoatUS, the nation’s largest association of recreational boaters, convinced NOAA to maintain the line and update it on a continuing basis.

“Some boaters had assumed the magenta line, which was last updated in 1935, was a precise route through safe waters,” said David Kennedy of BoatUS. “However, over time the forces of nature made the line inaccurate as shoals shifted and underwater topography changed, leading some boats into shallows, over dangerous obstructions, or even into land. We thank NOAA for a change of course in keeping the magenta line, listening to boaters and coming up with a creative public-private partnership that recognizes the value of this important guide to navigation.”

Calendar

Feb. 14-17 – Cool Springs Environmental Education Center, off Hwy. 17 north of New Bern, will host individuals or groups who wish to come out and inventory birds at the site as part of the Audubon Society’s annual Great Backyard Bird Count. There is no charge. Contact Melissa Patrick at 252-514-3533 for details.

Feb. 16 – The Pitt County Wildlife Club will host a 3-D archery tournament at their range outside Greenville beginning at 10 a.m. For directions or details, contact Joe McMillan at 252-902-9806.

Feb. 18 – The Outdoor Adventure Club (OAC) will hold their regular monthly meeting at the W. New Bern Recreation Center on Pine Tree Dr. beginning at 7 p.m. More information is available by phone at 252-639-2912 or online at http://www.nboac.org/.

Mar. 1 – Spec Fever Guide Service will host a seminar on giant red drum from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the New Bern Shrine Club on Glenburnie Rd. Capt. Gary Dubiel, Capt. Dave Stewart and Brian Saunders, host of “Victory Fishing,” will discuss catching trophy fish on soft plastics, fly rods, popping corks and other methods. Tickets are $50 per person. Contact Dubiel at 252-249-1520 or captgary@specfever.com for more information.